Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 263, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 November 1912 — To Perpetuate, memory of a president [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

To Perpetuate, memory of a president

MONUMENTS and memorials have been erected to the memory of distinguished statesmen, warriors., literateurs and heroes of Various characters, for many centuries, and the .types of architecture of these tokens of love and loyalty have assumed as many distinctive designs as are indicated by the character whom they commemorate, as well as that of the artißt or architect who designs them. The love and loyalty of one man, a friend, for one whom he had admired throughout his momentous career, will be fittingly portrayed in the magnificent Birthplace Memorial building, which is to be erected in Niles, 0., to the memory of Its first citizen, the late President William McKinley, through the efforts of Hon. Joseph G. Butler, Jr., millionaire philanthropist and capitalist of Youngstown. The plans and specifications of this majestic shrine are now completed and a portrait of the building is herewith presented- It is expected that work on the construction will be commenced in the early spring. Plan to Raise Funds. The conception of this memorial has been upon the mind and heart of Mr. Butler since the death of the martyred president, and he always expressed the belief that Niles was the fitting place for such a memorial. Although he contributed liberally to the funds for the majestic mausoleum at Canton, he was then evolving a plan to erect a memorial in Niles himself, but on taking the matter under due consideration, he felt that there were many who cherished the memory of the great statesman as deeply as he, who would feel that they were deserving of the opportunity to contribute to such a cause. A number of friends were consulted, and Mr. Butler was accorded the greatest encouragement. He planned to make it a thoroughly national movement, and decided that It would be a security to the enterprise to appeal to congress for a charter, with the understanding that the government was not called upon to provide any of the funds. These are to be raised by private subscription, and a bill was accordingly introduced into congress by Representative W. Aubrey Thomas, who represented the old Nineteenth district, which was passed without a dissenting voice, In a most stormy period at the close of the third session of the Sixty-first congress, and Joseph G. Butler, Jr., of Ohio; Myron T. Herrick of Ohio, Jacob G. Schmidlapp of Ohio, John G. Milburn of New York, and W. A. Thomas of Ohio were appointed members of a commission, to compose a body corporate, which would be known by the name of the National McKinley Birthplace association, to perpetuate the name and achievements of the late President William McKinley, by erecting and maintaining in the city of Niles, 0., his birthplace, a monument and memorial building. Will Berve Many Purposes. Impressing upon the minds of his associates that his plan was to establish a building, far removed from the usual monumental pile, which would be a dignified structure of noble architecture, to serve as a civic center for the people of the city, to contain an auditorium for public meetings, a relic room, where documents, relics and other valuable mementoes of the McKinley period would be stored and statuary and rare paintings and portraits of notable people connected with that period will be placed. Another compartment will be given over to the free public library. An' effort will also be made to allow space for portraits of notable men associated with McKinley’s career, both as a citizen and as a statesman, and also illustrations and other representations of the industrial developments of the McKinley policies. A room will be placed at the disposal of the Grand Army of the Republic and the Women’s Relief Corps, and here will be found many relics of McKinley’s military career In the Civil war as a private, arising to the rank of a major general, and also of the Spanish-Amer-ican war. ' In order to allow the people of Niles to show their appreciation of this great gift, It was deemed a courtesy by the trustees of the association to allow them to such a contribution as they felt in their power to give, and in order to promote the general good feeling Mr. Butler and his aids came to Niles and conducted a six-day campaign. Previous to this. Mjvßuiler had headed the list with s contribution of SI,OOO and each of

the trustees had contributed SI,OOO each. A $5,000 subscription was secured from Andrew Carnegie, and large sums were pledged by many other philanthropists. During the sixday campaign conducted in the city over $58,000 was raised. Fraternal organizations, clubs and Individuals in the city worked and contributed freely, and a splendid spirit prevailed throughout the entire campaign. Telegcaph and telephone connections were established at headquarters, and a committee was in charge* of the responses to the messages sent out. This method of raising the SIOO,OOO, which the building is designed to cost, has met with th» most sincere approval of the people of Nileß, since It gives them the assurance that they have a part in the enterprise. The building is the first of its type to be designed in the world, and is a fitting memorial to the great statesman. In the design an effort is made to portray to the present and future generations the noble character of President McKinley which shall endure for ages, also the great philanthropic thought of the founder of the movement whereby Niles is to receive this great gift, ths lifelong friend and, staunch supporter of the martyred president, Hon. Joseph G. Butler. great generosity of the American people is being displayed in the many hearty responses to telegrams and the large volume of encouraging letters being received daily by Mr.. Butler from almost every state in the Union and many foreign posts.

PROPOSED MSKINLEY MEMORIAL BUILDING